Pigeon Detectives

Dave Best of the Pigeon Detectives fame discusses all things Leeds in his Football Firsts.

Dave Best of the Pigeon Detectives fame discusses the highs and lows of being a Leeds fan in his Football Firsts.

Pigeon Detectives bassist Dave Best is the first to admit being a Leeds United fan is often a 'rollercoaster ride'. Since his childhood the Yorkshireman has loyally spent his Saturdays at Elland Road, fondly recalling the highs of Division 1 title success as well as a fair few lows - with the hammer-blow exit of Eric Cantona still a sore point. With things finally seeming to be back on track Best is daring to hope the Whites are a team on the up, and his dedication to the club has not waned, despite his success with Leeds-based quintet the Pigeons. Even with the band about to release their new album 'UP, GUARDS AND AT 'EM' next month and preparing for their UK headline tour, he insists you can often still find him cheering on United of a Saturday afternoon. From worshipping Lucas Radebe to having a soft spot for Rangers, Best shares his earliest memories as a Leeds fan with skysports.com in his Football Firsts.

Leeds United

I think my mum used to make my dad take me to matches as a kid, he probably just wanted to go with his mates. In the old days they used to give away free kids tickets with adult tickets. We used have a specific spot in the Kop where me and my mates from school would meet. We'd leave the dads to it and go and have a kick-about with a ball at half-time at the back of the stands. There was loads of Leeds fans at school, and the odd rogue Manchester United fan doing it for attention. I go to Elland Road as much as possible nowadays. I've been a few times this year. We've had our ups and downs, it's been a rollercoaster ride. For so long we've not been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel but I think now, after getting promotion and playing good football for the first time in god knows how long, we're beginning to see a future at Leeds instead of looking at the past.

Leeds 2 Derby 1, Elland Road, 22nd January 1991

I was about eight years old and it was against Derby. I remember the Rams centre-back Mark Wright scored for them. I think David Rocastle might have scored for us but I can't remember. It was the Gordon Strachan, Gary McAllister, David Batty, Gary Speed generation. I went with my dad and my brother. Because it was standing in the Kop me and my brother used to run straight down to the front and sit on the barriers, whereas it would be straight back to your seats nowadays. For 11 seasons after that match I had a season ticket with my dad in the family stand.

Lucas Radebe

After I got my season ticket I'd say it was probably Lucas Radebe. We signed him pretty much the first year I got a ticket. He started off at left-back then he just built and built. He was so committed to Leeds, as a fan you could appreciate him so much. He never wanted to leave Leeds, he was really happy and he seemed like a really nice bloke. He always put 110 per cent in, he was an absolute legend. I think he's back in South Africa now but he comes across to Leeds every now and then. It'd be good to meet him.

Eric Cantona

You've got a few. Eric Cantona is the obvious one because he went to Manchester United. I was about 11 when he did that because he moved the year after he'd won the league with us. I was old enough to hear my dad slagging him off to his mates, then I'd go to school and repeat to my mates what I'd heard my dad say. More recently Harry Kewell was a bit of a villain when he went to Galatasaray after all the stuff that's gone on between the two sides. He wore the number on the back of his shirt there that he wore for Leeds and stuff like that. When he left Leeds we were still paying three-quarters of his wages. He was one of those players that could provide magic, but he was lazy with it. He was frustrating to watch at times but undoubtedly a good footballer.

Gordon Strachan and Leeds' victory parade, 1992

When we won the league I was about nine or 10, and my earliest memory is when they brought the Division 1 trophy back with them. I went to the big parade they had in Leeds. I was up on my dad's shoulders with one of those big honky things in my hand. I remember I thought Gordon Strachan waved at me when I was a kid but he didn't, I think he was most likely just waving at everyone. There's probably even earlier memories than that but that's definitely the one that sticks out.

Oulton Owls

I played from under-nines up until I was 18. I was never a bad player but my brother was excellent so I think my family chose to go and watch him instead. He's two years older than me and he used to play up front with Alan Smith in the school team, so he was the footballer of the family really. I usually played central midfield when I was younger but then I became a striker because I got lanky, so they put me up front for my height. You either have to be lanky or fast - and I wasn't fast. I toyed with football but I was a bit of a daydreamer really. I used to just come on as a sub and run around. I played at Elland Road in a charity game not long ago and that was a brilliant thing to do. My mum and dad were shouting from the sidelines, it was a bit surreal. I set Brian Deane up for a shot and I'll take that to my grave. He missed, but still.

Rangers, early 1990s

It was a Rangers McEwan's Lager one, which I think my dad got for cheap. I think it was when I just started playing. It was in the early 1990s I imagine. I kind of took Rangers on as my Scottish side after that, just because I had the kit. I know a lot of Leeds fans support Celtic as well but I went for Rangers. I had a poster on my wall of Ally McCoist in the same kit.

Jason Donovan - Greatest Hits

I had it bought for me by my mum for Christmas. I think I must have gone around singing one of his songs when I was little, so she bought it. It had his head on the front cover and had stuff like 'Sealed with a Kiss' on it and him singing with Kylie Minogue. It was on vinyl and it got a lot of play. It was the seed from which my musical interest grew. It's in my mum and dad's garage now in a box of old vinyls. I'll have to dig it out. 'UP, GUARDS AND AT 'EM!', the new album from The Pigeon Detectives, is released on April 4th and available to order here.